Once the agreement for Wateringweg was signed, it felt like the project had crossed the biggest hurdle. We had the space. We had the vision. Now it was just a matter of financing and closing. Easy. Right?
Because the property was being purchased through our Dutch entity, Gozynta B.V., the financing process was very different from anything we had done in the United States.
Meanwhile, the day-to-day business of Gozynta continued without interruption. Our U.S. team was supporting customers. Our products were moving forward. From an operational standpoint, nothing changed. The distributed structure that has always defined Gozynta kept everything steady while we worked through the uncertainty of the purchase.
I had assumed the commercial loan process would feel similar to buying our home in the Netherlands, which had been surprisingly simple. There was no pre-approval process. We signed twice, received the keys and a bottle of champagne, and the entire closing took about ten minutes.
Commercial lending, it turns out, is different.
I met with a bank specialist nearly a year in advance to understand what they would require. He assured us the financing would not be a problem and even provided a lending range far higher than what we planned to borrow.
The building we chose required only about a quarter of that amount.
The day before signing the purchase agreement, we met with him again.
“No problem,” he said. “The only challenge will be scheduling the appraisal during the holidays.”
We signed.
We gathered every requested document within 24 hours. Weeks passed. Additional questions came in. More paperwork went back.
Then, three days before our financing deadline, the bank called. They needed more documentation. And more time.
We moved quickly again. Then came the call no buyer wants to receive. The loan might not be approved. They needed even more paperwork. We asked the seller for an extension. She agreed.
And then we waited.
Eventually, the decision came back.
Denied. They didn’t understand the business plan. It was a difficult moment. However there was a glimmer of hope, they said they may be able to offer the loan but they needed more information about our US company, and they wanted all the numbers from all the companies submitted by a Dutch accountant. Luckily, we have a great one who cleared his schedule and worked non-stop, and got this to a state the banks would clearly understand how we would be making money on this venture.
At the same time, we began exploring outside investment options.
The seller gave us another extension as we chewed off our fingernails and waited.
Then, on February 7, the approval came through.
Closing is scheduled for April 20.
After months of uncertainty, the project moved from fragile to real and the energy has shifted from waiting to building.
